Car-coupling



(N0 Model.)

W. TUCKER. GarCoupling.

No. 233,302. Patented Oct. 12, 1880.

WITNESSES 2 wyw i N. PETERS, PHOTOMTMQGRA UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

WILLIAM TUCKER, OF EAST TOLEDO, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,302, dated October12, 1880. Application filed August 11, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM TUCKER, of EastToledo,'in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Gar-Couplings; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to that form of coupling in which the bumper isformed with a hooked head and provided with a hinged jaw that engageswith the hooked head of the adjoining car.

' The object of my invention is to provide an improved spring-connectionfor actuating the hinged jaw, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of acar, with the trucks removed, provided with my improved coupler; Fig. 2,a side elevation of the end of a car provided with a coupling-headconstructed according to my invention, and Fig. 3 a perspective detailof one of the parts.

The timbers or framing of the car A may be of well-known construction.

The coupling-head E is formed into a hook, E, upon one of its sides, andlugs or cars E upon its opposite side.

A pivot-pin, F, passes through ears E and also passes through ahook-piece, F, provided with an arm, F formed at right angles to thebody of the hook portion immediately opposite the pivot.

A presserplate, G, is hinged to a bolt, 9, that passes verticallyalongside of the drawhead at therear of the pivot-pin F, and is heldagainst the arm F by a couple of coiled springs, g, that encirclethepivot-pin F, by which means the arm and hook are held firmly inposition, but may be readily adjusted to interlock with, or be releasedfrom, the hook of the adjoining car.

The outer end of' the arm F is provided with an eyebolt, f, to which isattached the end of a chain, H, the other end of which is connected to alever, 11, pivoted at h to the under side of the car, and of sufficientlength to project to the outside of the car and pass over a rack-bar, Hsecured to the car, so that the lever H may be employed to strain thechain and pull the hook back out of its operating position.

If desired, the lever may be of the form shown at the right of thedrawings, pivoted in the middle and connected at one end to the chain Hand at the other end to a chain, 1, that is secured to and passes arounda pulley, K, on the lower end of a vertical shaft, K, to the upper endof which is secured a brakewheel, K

The shaft K may be of suflicient height to extend to the top of thehand-rail of the platform when attached to passenger-cars, or it maybeof suflicient length to extend to the roof of the car, to be operated bythe brakeman from the top of the car.

The coupling-head is secured to the framing of the carin any suitablemannerin this instance by means of a loop-shaped piece of bariron, L,that passes around the body of the coupling-head and is secured at itsend to the bottom of the car.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from theforegoing descrip-' tion.

The device is simple, and may be easily operated, and is not liable tobecome unlocked or disengaged from the adjoining car, so that there isno danger of leaving a car upon the track in the middle of the night towreck the next train that comes along. The hook is not cut away toreceive the springfor holding it in position and weakened thereby, and avery strong spring may be compactly arranged for the aforesaid purpose.

I do not broadly claim a car-coupling providedwith a stationary hook, apivoted hookpiece, and a coiled spring to hold it in place, as suchdevice is shown in the patent of John Bassler, No. 124,780, dated March19, 1872; but he does not show a presser-plate pivoted to the head orstationary hook by means of a bolt independent of the pivoted hook-pieceand encircled by a spring arranged to operate as above described.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent In anautomatic car-coupling, the combination of the draw-head secured to theframing beneath the car, and formed with a hook, E, upon one end, with ahook-piece, F, provided with arm F and pivoted to the draw-head, andpresser-plate G, pivoted to the head by bolt g, encircled by coiledsprings g, that force the presser-plate against the arm of the hook, inthe manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

Witnesses: WILLIAM TUCKER.

THOMAS McGRATH, O. L. KENNEDY.

